Hue & Saturation Pro Photography Tip

Change and enhance color with precision using this adjustment tool

Ibarionex R. Perello

Published August 1, 2005
Updated November 5, 2018

The Hue/Saturation adjustment is found in most image-editing applications, and offers one of the best ways to change colors both globally and selectively. This easy-to-use tool creates remarkably different looks to your color images.The tool is typically made of three controls: Hue (actual color), Saturation (the intensity of color) and Lightness (a combination of contrast and brightness). When used singularly or in combination, the function makes adjustments as dramatic as the complete transformation of the color of a shirt or the more subtle addition of warmth to skin tone.

Adjust the Hue control and you‚’ll see shifts in the color values in your images. By adjusting the slider, you can change to a completely different color. Finer incremental adjustments can effectively reduce unwanted color casts.

The Saturation control provides a satisfying color boost or, when taken too far, a garish appearance to your photographs. Although the degree of change is subject to your own personal taste, an amount of 10 to 20 is acceptable for most images. You either can adjust all colors by using the Master control or make individual color (red, green, blue, cyan, magenta or yellow) adjustments.

The individual color adjustment offers the most precision and control, allowing changes to selective colors with less risk of altering other color values. Even if there are other parts of the picture that have similar color, making a selection around the target area of your photograph will further isolate the effect of the Hue/Saturation tool. The Lightness control, while available, should be used sparingly, if at all. Adjustments to brightness and contrast can be better achieved and controlled by using Levels or Curves in your image-editing application.Basic Rules For Hue/Saturation

1Adjust Hue in small amounts to correct color and adjust in large amounts to drastically change color.

2Saturation changes the intensity of a color; adjustments between 10 and 20 will offer an accept-able range.3Saturation features a Master control in addition to individual color adjustments.

I’ve heard conflicting recommendations on where to set the white balance on my digital camera. Some sources advise the use of automatic white balance; others say to use a different white-balance setting for each specific light source. What do you think?